After the introduction, we are introduced to the new combat system. She received a strong upgrade and leaves a very positive impression. We have at our disposal strong and weak punches, jump, roll, wrestling techniques. The hard and weak hits were assigned to two buttons instead of one, as was the case on the Wii. Added special techniques that are replenished over time and performed with a glove. At first, only one is available to us, but then there will be four of them. Performing deadly blows, we spin a one-armed bandit every time, which, with the right combo, will knock out one of the ultimates. There are five of them in total: mustang mode with quick strikes, Henshin’s mech robot mode, enhanced wrestling, invulnerability for a short time and a certain amount of coins.
Henshin is one of the main innovations in the third part. This is Travis’ mech suit, in which he can fire rockets and lasers. Activated with a glove on the hand during ultimates and on special missions.
Naomi, who pumped Travis in previous parts, acquired a whole laboratory in No More Heroes III, and instead of a trainer, the developers added a slot machine that raises the characteristics of the hero. Travis has five of the latter: health, strength, katana charge, accelerated rollback of the glove hits and additional combo moves that must be bought.
Also in the laboratory, you can insert chips into the glove that open certain permanent buffs. Chips are created from “garbage” of various rarities, which is given literally for any activity in the game, and are able to increase damage in certain situations, restore the ultimate faster, and so on. Some garbage items for chips drop from bosses, and you can actually get them again by defeating the enemies again on a higher difficulty. For this, a special capsule is provided in the laboratory.
The new pumping system is interesting, as you progress you feel how Travis becomes stronger and masters new techniques that really help in battle. But why the different types of lightsabers were completely removed from the second part is not clear. Yes, and there is a slight longing for mini-games in the gym, when the hero was swinging to get stronger.
The gameplay process is divided into several stages. First, we ride a motorcycle around the city, collecting various collectibles, completing side quests, participating in mini-games and going through battles. We save money in the process. Next, we buy a battle with the boss of the next stage of the Galactic Championship standings.
Travis is preserved, as before, in the toilets, but now they must be cleaned before that. Pizza, which was previously scattered across the levels, is replaced by sushi shops. They give temporary buffs, serve as a first-aid kit, you can eat them at any time of the game. Travis is also offered to buy a sushi set, which will give a one-time buff for a long time.
After the arrival of an alien ship, the game world, the city of Santa Destroy, crashed into separate islands, on which aliens now walk. As we progress through the story, we will open more and more locations.
Money is earned by mini-games in the manner of the first part. There are two currencies in No More Heroes III – UC and WESN. UC buys access to tournaments and other gear, and WESN only buys Travis’ stat upgrades. Travis will have to shoot crocodiles from a tank, collect garbage, mow lawns, mine ore in lava caves, participate in motorcycle races, fly Henshin … The local mini-games are very funny and don’t get boring because they have different difficulty levels. The game keeps the balance so that the user does not get tired of them – it is exciting and very fast to farm money for the next battle with the boss.
Travis is allowed to change clothes. In past games in the series, this required spending money. Aliens are now scattered throughout the game world, offering a new T-shirt or jacket for completing a side quest. For example, “do 20 wrestling moves” or “do 20 perfect dodges”. However, if earlier it was possible to change any item of clothing, now we can only change the jacket and T-shirt.
In No More Heroes 1 and 2, before the boss, players had to clear the corridors of the same type of enemies. In the third part, instead, they offer to fight aliens in the city and on the ship, and they are mini-bosses with unique features. Enemies are combined into groups, and sometimes these battles can “light up”.
The combat system in No More Heroes III is varied and interesting – the player needs to use all the items, hits and buffs. It will not be possible to simply “call out” enemies with one blow, each one needs its own approach, and there is nothing superfluous.
